I’m writing about yesterday’s fun – May 10 – over morning coffee, since it carried on through the evening. Another very full day!

We flew two legs: Weatherford OK (KOJA) to Walnut Ridge AR (KARG), then on to Nashville TN – John Tune Airport (KJWN) which is the satellite airport for Nashville Int’l. It was a wonderful, smooth air day where we spent most of the time on autopilot and had a perfect route away from some thunderstorms that were lurking in Arkansas. We followed the Arkansas River for a bunch of the first leg, and crossed the mighty Mississippi on the second. We got some beautiful pics despite it being a mostly hazy day.

Leg 1: We had a nice early start out of cute, tidy little Weatherford airport. No taxis because Dave doesn’t start till 6pm, but our nice hotel asked the head housekeeper to give us a ride, which she was happy to do, and apparently often does. Tammy is the best kind of down-to-earth, warm chatty person who is a grandmother 6x over, and great-grandmother 2x over. Just celebrated her 48th wedding anniversary. And she’s still working 6 days/week. She was a real bundle of energy.

We loaded the plane and called for fuel. BTW aviation fuel at Weatherford is cheaper than regular car gas in California. The line guy (fuel truck service), confirmed that yes, the planes are all in hangars there. Oklahoma gets too much lightning, hail and tornados for leaving them exposed on the ramp. But not yesterday. It was clear skies and virtually no wind for takeoff, and landing at Walnut Ridge. Walnut Ridge (pop 5098) has beautiful farmland and forest, but flat as a pancake, and I didn’t see any walnut trees either. But no matter. It was an excellent stop.

I have to give a shout out to the FBO at Walnut Ridge, and Stacy who runs it. I sure wish we’d gotten a picture with her. FBO stands for Fixed Base Operator, offering services for smaller planes like fuel, parking and hangars, and pilot lounges – and they range from simple (remember Tucumcari with self-serve fuel, water, restrooms and some couches) to swanky (coffee, sodas, snacks, large flight planning tables, and even sleeping and shower rooms). It kind of depends on how many expensive jets pass through. Places like Walnut Ridge don’t have swank, but they have outstanding hospitality. Stacy’s pilot lounge has a George Foreman grill to cook your own hotdogs, popcorn, ice cream, cold sodas and coffee. And she gives a warm welcome and fun conversation. Places like that make a trip like this unique and extraordinary. We found it because pilots comment on FBOs in a section of Foreflight (the wonder app for flying), so word gets around. Also, websites like funplacestofly.com have great ideas.

Leg 2: We didn’t have too much time to linger because there were thunderstorms relatively close and our exit window would have closed. Our route to Nashville was an almost straight shot east, though we went a bit north to ensure separation from the storms. During the flight we listened to the very busy air traffic controller advising pilots about where the cells were and how to avoid them – yikes! But we had lovely smooth air even while passing some cute fluffy clouds that might not stay so cute.

Lots of the landscape looked like elaborate toy towns complete with lakes and perfect little farmhouses and barns.

We arrived in sunny Nashville, got to our very comfortable rental apt. in the same building where Dan’s son and daughter-in-law live, and went out for delicious dinner, then drinks at a rooftop bar with spectacular views of Nashville city lights. This is an awesome trip.